Vanz(ian magic) Kant Danz

Update on Zine Issue #1, the OGL, and John Fogerty

The first issue of the Critical Hit Parader zine will feature a Blue Öyster Cult-themed adventure called “Workshop of the Telescopes.” It is designed for the Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) RPG by Goodman Games, although it should be easy enough to convert and run in your favorite system. A few weeks ago, I was preparing to send the zine to Goodman Games for approval as part of their DCC 3rd party program. This was when the Wizards of the Coast Open Game License (OGL) kerfuffle struck.

DCC is published using the OGL and their 3rd party license agreement included a requirement to publish under the OGL as well. I did not want to include the OGL in the Critical Hit Parader zine, I put things on hold for a bit. The folks at Goodman Games reacted quickly and came out with a new 3rd party agreement that does not require the OGL. This morning I signed the new agreement and submitted the zine to Goodman Games for approval. I’m hopeful that it will be approved and that I will be able to launch the Kickstarter in February as part of Zine Quest. In the meantime, I have set up a pre-launch page where you can sign up to be notified on launch. Please share the link with anyone you think would be interested.

The audacity and greed displayed by Wizards of the Coast in trying to extract royalties from the creative people who are most responsible for the health of their product reminded me of when John Fogerty was sued by his old record label for copying himself. But good news…just this month, John Fogerty has finally acquired the rights back to his Creedence Clearwater Revival catalog. Perhaps the WoTC OGL crisis can come to a similar happy ending. I just hope it happens sooner than the 50+ years Fogerty had to wait.